La Liga
Barcelona Ease Past Villarreal To Go Top
Goals from Gerard Pique and Carles Alena helped Barcelona go top of La Liga for a couple of hours at least, as they defeated Villarreal at the Camp Nou.
A brilliant cross from Ousmane Dembele found Pique who’s header had too much power for Villarreal keeper Sergio Asenjo to keep out.
With four minutes remaining Barca doubled their lead thanks to a brilliant chipped finish from young substitute Carles Alena.
The win helped Barcelona leapfrog Sevilla at the top of La Liga ahead of their match against Alaves later in the evening.
Meanwhile, Villarreal remain in 17th place and are just three points above the relegation zone.
The yellow submarine looked a threat on the break but their lack of goalscorers once again was their biggest downfall.
Pique Heads Barca In Front
Villarreal got off to a good start and came within inches of taking the lead on 13 minutes.
Poor defending from Clement Lenglet allowed Villarreal striker Gerard Moreno to outmuscle him.
Moreno then hit a shot from close range which struck the base of the post.
Barcelona had more possession early on but struggled to create any clear chances.
On 31 minutes, Dembele nearly scored the opener. Jordi Alba delivered a great ball into the box, it was brilliantly brought down by Dembele.
He then hit a shot from just inside the box which was well blocked by Villarreal defender Santiago Caseres.
After 35 minutes, Barca took the lead. A curling cross into the box from Dembele picked out Gerard Pique inside the box.
He headed the ball into the ground and despite Villarreal goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo getting a hand to it, he couldn’t keep the ball out of the net.
Three minutes later, Lionel Messi came close to making it two.
Great interplay between Jordi Alba and Messi eventually saw the Argentine have a shot saved from close range by Asenjo.
Subdued Second Half
The second half was a rather dull affair with neither side able to create many clear cut chances.
A decent free kick from Villarreal midfielder Santi Cazorla from 20-yards out went just over the top off the crossbar.
The closest Barcelona came to adding to their lead was a brilliant curling shot from Philippe Coutinho which went just wide from 25-yards out.
Barcelona looked flat in the second half, with only Dembele looking lively out wide.
However, Villarreal were also struggling to test the Barcelona goal.
With four minutes remaining, Barcelona sealed the victory. A brilliant through pass from Lionel Messi found young substitute Carles Alena.
Alena then brilliantly dinked the ball over the advancing Asenjo in the Villarreal goal, to double Barcelona’s lead.
Overall it was a comfortable victory for Barca even though they looked like they were playing in second gear.
Injuries Mounting Up For Barcelona
Barcelona were missing a number of key players against Villarreal.
The likes of Luis Suarez, Arthur, Sergio Roberto, Rafinha and Samuel Umtiti were all out injured.
Such was Barca’s injury crisis that four of their substitutes were from the famed La Masia academy.
The academy has produced a number of top quality players over the years, such as Lionel Messi, Iniesta and Xavi to name just a few.
In recent years the talent production from La Masia has slowed down, but 20-year old Carles Alena could be the next to join the list of illustrious youth academy graduates.
He showed incredible composure and skill to dink the ball over Villarreal keeper Sergio Asenjo and score his first La Liga goal for Barcelona.
Given the busy fixture period before the Christmas break and the number of injuries that Barcelona have, they could do with some of their talented young players to step up to the mark.
Villarreal Need A Goalscorer
Villarreal showed plenty of endeavor and looked a threat on the counter attack.
The likes of Samuel Chukwueze looks a real talent and looked threatening on the break with his pace and trickery.
They should have taken the lead early on when striker Gerard Moreno struck the post.
However, that has been the yellow submarine’s biggest problem this season.
So far in La Liga they have scored just 13 goals in 14 games, averaging less than 1 goal per game.
Villarreal are currently in a relegation battle and if they don’t sort out their goalscoring problems, then that’s where they will be staying.
They have two crucial games against teams around them and is a great chance for them to kick start their season.
Next up is a Copa del Rey 2nd leg against Almeria at home.
For Barcelona they host Cultural Leonesa also in the Copa del Rey.
Photo credit to FC Barcelona via Twitter
